American Buffalo - Happiness is on the streets

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Movie
German title American Buffalo - Happiness is on the streets
Original title American Buffalo
Country of production USA / UK
original language English
Publishing year 1996
length 88 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Michael Corrente
script David Mamet
production Gregory Mosher
music Thomas Newman
camera Richard Crudo
cut Kate Sanford
occupation

American Buffalo - Happiness is on the road is a 1,996 incurred American independent film , whose literary model, the 1975 , first performed drama American Buffalo by David Mamet is. Mamet himself adapted his play for the cinema. It is a chamber game about three men from the milieu of gamblers and petty criminals who are preparing a break-in. The complex web of relationships of friendship, power and business shines through the vulgar language. Other themes in the film are the characters' inability to plan and change the situation and the lack of perspective in life on the edge of society.

action

Donny is on his way to his junk shop. He meets his 15-year-old errand boy, Bobby, who has been watching someone for Donny. However, he is not sure whether he has already left his apartment and therefore receives some advice from Donny for his job as well as about the "business" and the "hard reality" in general.

In front of the Riverside Diner , a café across from the shop, they meet Teach, who, like Donny, had lost money at poker the night before. He's mad at Grace and Ruthie who won his money playing poker. Donny sends Bob to the cafe to get breakfast. When he comes back, he tells Donny, just as Teach seems inattentive, that he has seen the man he is watching again. He got into the car with his suitcase and coat and drove away. Since he forgot the coffee, he goes back to the café. Now Teach tries to lure out of Donny what he has planned with Bob. Donny reluctantly tells him at first:

A man came into his shop and found an old, rare 5-cent coin with an Indian head on the front and a bison (also called Buffalo ) on the back (the so-called Buffalo Nickel ). He asked Donny what it cost, then offered $ 50 himself, and ended up paying $ 90 for it. Donny, who is not familiar with coins, is convinced that the coin is worth far more and that he was ripped off. So he plans a break-in: Bob should watch the man's apartment and now pull out the coin, or rather the whole coin collection. Teach doubts Bob's abilities and wants to carry out the break-in himself. A quarrel develops as Teach puts Bobby down and Donny defends him. It is implied that Bob is a drug addict (according to Teach) or at least was (according to Donny). Donny gives in; when Bob comes back, he tells him to forget the plan. Bob desperately needs money but doesn't want to reveal what for; Donny gives him $ 50 and sends him away.

Donny and Teach call the coin buyer to make sure he is not home. Donny wants to hire a third man for the break-in, namely Fletch, who won a lot of money playing poker the day before. Teach does not think this is necessary. This leads to another argument, this time Donny prevails. Teach goes home to sleep, they arrange to meet late in the evening to break in.

In the evening Bobby comes back with a 5-cent coin, the same one that the break-in was about. He doesn't tell where he got it and wants to sell it to Donny. When they are about to look up a coin catalog, Teach comes in. He's too late because his watch supposedly broke. He's upset that Bobby is there and thinks Donny has planned him for the break-in after all. Bobby urgently needs money again, Teach gives him something to get rid of.

Now Donny and Teach are waiting for Fletch, who is also late. Teach now wants to badmouth Fletch in front of Donny to convince him to do the break-in without him. Among other things, he claims that Fletch cheated while playing poker. Donny tries in vain to reach Fletch on the phone. He asks Teach for details of his planned approach to the break-in, but Teach weighs it down and plays down the difficulties. When Teach falls a pistol out of his jacket, another conflict arises: Teach wants to have it with him during the break-in in order to feel safer. Donny is against it: He probably doesn't want to be involved in a coup in which weapons are involved.

Bob comes back with bad news: Grace and Ruthie told him that Fletch had been beaten on the street and was now in the hospital with a broken jaw. Donny and Teach suspect Bobby of betraying them and trying to break in with Fletch or Grace and Ruthie. When Donny calls the hospital named by Bobby and learns that Fletch is not there, they feel confirmed. Teach picks up the phone and hits Bobby on the head; he goes down and his ear is bleeding. Donny does not protect him, but tells him that it is his own fault.

Ruthie calls and confirms Bobby's story. Since Donny now knows that Bobby was wrongly injured, he is angry with Teach and wants to throw him out of the store. A dispute ensues between the two of them, which is interrupted by a confession from Bobby: He didn't see the coin buyer drive away, he thought it up so that Donny wouldn't be mad at him. When Teach realizes that the whole plan has failed, he freaks out and smashes the shop interior. His self-confidence is gone, he despairs of the world and of his poor life. He admits that his watch didn't break: he moved it.

Donny convinces Bobby that he has to go to the hospital and comforts him. He also instructs Teach to pull up his car to take Bobby there. Teach does as he is told and leaves the shop.

The figures

Donny

Since Donny is the owner of the junk shop, he's the only one present in every scene while Teach and Bobby come and go. He seems to be single and doesn't have a very exciting life: his life is basically just a shop. He's a rather calm, level-headed character. His main motivation for the break-in is his insulted sense of honor and justice: He feels cheated, on the one hand by the buyer of the coin, on the other hand by life in general. If he were to get the 5-cent coin back, he would be satisfied, even if nothing else came out for him.

Bobby

Bobby is an African-American boy around 15 years old who seems a bit shy, awkward and dependent. He always seems to be hiding something, the motives for his actions are often unclear: an example of this is his multiple requests for money, whereby he does not want to reveal what he needs it for.

Teach

Teach presents himself as a “doer” who takes hold of every situation and wants to determine it. He intrudes and tries immediately to take command. Only when the plan finally fails does his vulnerability come to light: Teach does not get his own life under control and overcomes this by trying to dominate others. He often speaks in phrases that are meant to sound good but are mostly inappropriate. He philosophizes about friendship and loyalty; But when it gets concrete, pragmatism and business acumen suddenly dominate over emotional aspects. His language is heavily interspersed with curses and insults against absent third parties, including homophobic and sexist remarks about Grace and Ruthie.

The relationships between the characters

There is a kind of mentor-student relationship between Donny and Bobby that can almost be described as a father-son relationship. So Donny persuades z. B. Bobby to buy something for breakfast and not skip that meal. Donny realizes Bobby's inability to cope with his life and wants to help him. His admission to Teach to keep Bobby out of the break-in could also be related to the fact that he does not want to bring Bobby on a “wrong track”: Bobby should pretend “as if it never happened”. What he wants to teach Bobby can be reduced to two sentences: 1. Act, don't talk around. 2nd: There is no friendship, everyone has to take care of themselves. He also regards Teach's blow on the head as a “lesson”. Donny's affection for Bobby is greater than he admits: When Teach says, "I am moved by what you are doing for the boy." He rebuffs: "I am not doing anything for him." Shortly afterwards, however, he gets angry because Teach talks bad about Bobby. Bobby also feels a lot for Donny, but does not express these feelings. This can be seen in the fact that he probably bought the coin he brought over in the evening at another store to make up for the loss for Donny.

Teach suspects the relationship between Donny and Bobby, not least because he is initially excluded from it. He thinks Bobby is a "good boy", but with whom there is not much to be done. He tries to question Bobby about his plans. He alternates between chum and threat. This unsettles and scares Bobby. Donny sometimes tries to prevent this, but is inconsistent.

Teach and Donny are both friends and business partners. These two aspects of their relationship keep coming into conflict. Donny tries to get the upper hand on the coup and sees himself as Teachs' client. This becomes clear in the severity with which he attacks Teach because of his delay in the evening. Teach speaks ostensibly of "partners" who do a job "together", but wants to determine as much as possible himself. If Donny wants to find out more about his planned approach, Teach evades.

Emergence

The film was shot in Pawtucket , Rhode Island in 28 days on a budget of approximately $ 3.5 million . The world premiere took place on September 12, 1996 at the Toronto Film Festival ; in Germany it was released on October 17, 1996. The slogan on the movie poster was They had a plan. It wasn't worth a nickel. (German: They had a plan. But it wasn't worth 5 cents. )

Producer Gregory Mosher became aware of Michael Corrente when he presented his debut film Federal Hill to the public. He then hired Corrente as a director. The role of Teach was originally supposed to play Al Pacino , who also played it successfully on stage for two years. Since Pacino refused, Hoffman was offered the role.

In the US, the film was only in theaters for four weeks and grossed about $ 540,000. (Best placement in the US box office: # 37.)

Relationship between drama and film

The play only takes place in and around Donny's junk shop. In order not to let the film appear too static, the location alternates between the shop itself, the street in front of the shop, the inside of Teach's car, which is parked in front of the shop, and the backyard. The shop itself is relatively large and consists of several rooms, so that the background for the characters' actions is always different. The first scene shows Donny and Bobby in the streets of the city and in a shoe shine shop.

The dialogues of the film correspond almost entirely to those of the play. As far as the characters of the characters and the message of the story are concerned, the film does not attempt to completely reinterpret the piece. Nevertheless, a work of its own comes about; there can be no question of simply "filming" the piece.

Reviews

In the US, the film received mostly positive reviews. Above all, the acting performances, the socially critical undertone and the successful implementation of the (also largely benevolently criticized) drama were praised. Occasionally, however, Hoffman's game was criticized, which is only mediocre compared to his other films and does not do the character justice. Further points of criticism are an insufficient build-up of tension and a lack of movement and action, which leads to boredom in the long run.

"Atmospheric, naturalistic , excellently staged film adaptation of a socially critical play with an educational character."

- Lexicon of international film

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ American Buffalo - Happiness is in the street. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed February 9, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used